Visiting Europe in the winter. help?

?

2012-02-13 10:01:40 UTC

I teach a college seminar on traveling in Europe for the first-timer and frequently encourage my students to go at exactly the time of year you suggest. The lines are shorter or non-existent, people in the hospitality industry are less stressed and more willing to take time to explain things and offer suggestions for sightseeing and shopping, and as you noted, prices are lower for some things.

Organizing your own trip is not that difficult, intimidating as you may think it is. You need just a couple resources: a map of Europe, a calendar, a European train timetable, and a good guidebook.

Map of Europe: They're free for AAA-Plus members, and include regional and national maps, plus basic guidebooks (not very inclusive, however, but they offer the basics).

Timetable: Use any European rail service's website. I use German Rail's because it covers all of Europe and is the most user-friendly. RailEurope.com is great for identifying which railpass you should buy, but their trip planner is very rudimentary and not much use.

Guidebook: I love "Let's Go: Europe" and Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door," both of which have great introductory sections for first-timers. You'd be amazed by the number of people who think nothing of plunking down $2,500 for a self-guided tour of Europe but won't spend $12.95 for a decent guidebook!

You are quite right about the constraints of a package tour. Just when you've settled down in a congenial little village inn somewhere to the absolute best cup of hot cocoa you ever let pass your lips, you don't want your guide rounding up his or her flock and shoveling you all back on the bus. If you're on your own, especially when traveling with a railpass, you have a much better opportunity to meet the people of the countries you're visiting, not an irritating couple of know-it-alls from Peoria who sit across the aisle of the bus.

Speaking of railpasses, don't get an unlimited-use Eurailpass. You'll be tempted to go everywhere and see everything. You can't do it. Your vacation will be a blur of train stations, railway carriages and scenery rushing past your window. Get a SelectPass, which limits you to only a few countries of your choice and a few days within a month or two. That forces you to limit your travels so you get the most out of each location. Check www.RailEurope.com to learn about the many pass options.

Happy planning! For me that is part of the fun.

Willeke

2012-02-13 10:15:51 UTC

You want to be free to explore on your own, slowly.

That clinches it, no tour will allow you to do your own exploring slowly.

Europe is easy to travel, also in winter, and it is not dangerous at all.

Your biggest risk is getting lonely, and when staying at hostels you have good chances to meet people.

When you arrive in a new city, you can do a city tour to get your bearings, on which you will also meet people.

If you really want to see the cities, plan at least 3 days for each, and a few more days for the first to get adjusted to the traveling and maybe sleep off your jet lag.

Of course, not all cities have as much to see and do, Munich and Venice may not fill four days, Paris and London can easily fill a month.

If you can, change of between the main cities and smaller ones. Even in winter you can find day trips out into the countryside, doing one of those will make a nice change from the cities. Which otherwise might mix into a blur.

For practical advice, hostels you can find through booking sites. There are many, select one you think is easy to work with, read the reviews on the site and search reviews written about the booking site. Once you have started traveling, talk with other people you meet, good hostel information will be handed on, warnings about bad ones too.

You will find many of the city hostels open, but some might be closed, as it is less crowded. Only for Christmas and the New Year period you will have to book ahead, more than a few days in advance, as more hostels will close that time.

ignatz

2012-02-14 10:23:48 UTC

To have the freedom to come and go as you please start by checking out EuroRail train passes. Best way to go. All the cities you want to go to are good but at that time of year it's cols and lots of snow and ice.

Paris, Amsterdam & Munich are OK but also Nuremberg and it's Kris Kringle Xmas Market is a world Renown place to go.

As for organized tours you can always set up those on the side after you are in Europe. Travel light, send things you buy home by mail. There are Travel Aid Kiosks in or outside of train depots in big cities. They will find you hotels at best prices, set up tours, lots of info. They always have English speakers available.

It sounds if you will go for 2/3 weeks so using the trains you can plan a more or less circle route from one city to the next. You can save money by taking overnight trains, no hotel fee then.

I would suggest no London as it will take you more time.

Possibly fly into Amsterdam, then to Paris, Munich, Nuremberg, over to Saltzburg or down to NIce and day trip to Monte Carlo, return to Paris then Amsterdam home.

This way you will see a lot more.

But as an alternative maybe fly to Rome, to Naples, day trip to Pompeii , maybe to Capri, return through Rome to Florence, to Nice or Venice.

So much to see and do in Rome. You could live there a year & just get started. Bogle

The weather is much better in the winter in Italy, the Riviera, Spain and still go to Paris.

Rome, Nice, Barcelona, Paris return to Rome.

Enjoy!

mareeclara

2012-02-13 17:10:11 UTC

It is actually pretty easy getting around Europe, and even with only English you should have not many issues with languages in the main places...Paris may be the exception but there are still people who speak English, you just have to find them.

I would be be spending 3-5 days in the main cities. I had 5 days in Paris and still had things to see! Other places like Venice and Amsterdam are smaller and need less time eg 2-3days.

If you go by yourself you can go where you want, when you want, but if you want some support you have a few options. You can do something called a busabout where you book a route somewhere which has specific stops and whatnot and you get on an off where you want in a specific time span. I am not sure of the routes but my friend went on one in France/Spain and liked it. They do not have accommodation but they can offer options or you can organise your own (look at places like www.hostels.com, www.hostelworld.com or www.hostelbookers.com for not only hostels but hotels)

It is pretty easy to get around and you could get on trains from one major city and get to another. So if you wouldn't mind doing that, then maybe a eurorail pass might be an option. I didn't get one as I was based in the UK and travelling every few weeks. Some people find it great to get around. Otherwise you can just buy tickets at the station just prior to boarding. For most places there should be no problem in getting a ticket.

If you want some help with getting around you could look at day tours, which I used to add 1 or 2 per city trip eg to Versailles (half day tour from Paris), to Pompeii (full day from Rome) or Cesky Krumlov from Prague or go to see windmills in Amsterdam. You can prebook some or you can book them from information centers or little kiosks or online just prior. Look at viator for examples of the things you can do. This way you get picked up and dropped off and get info and food on full day tours for the most part

If you are going to do it alone, what I would say is be prepared. Get a travel book like lonely planet or rough guide or whatever, which has contacts and options etc. I would also recommend getting maps of the cities as well. Trust me, they are worth their weight in gold if you get lost or walk off the little tourist maps (and it took me an hour to get back onto my map again!!!). I got a few laminated ones which were excellent in rain and for folding and refolding. The brand I had also had a list of the top 10 things to do which I tried to do and was fun exploring.

I would spend time looking at few places and doing more in those places. As I said you should be looking at 3-5 days for big cities and 2-3 for smaller ones. If you add in travel and getting to and from accommodation, that adds up. I would try and get accommodation as close to the center as you can, which often you pay a bit more for but when you have limited time it pays.

mildred f

2012-02-13 08:52:17 UTC

Since this is your first time to Europe, then a guided Tour through a travel agent is ideal. Be sure to buy travel, health insurance for your trip, just in case. These have to be bought with your first payment.

These guided tours can be done at different "speeds." Specify that to your travel agent. Be sure to ask the tour guide how to get around town on the local public transportation.

Packing is important. Take your passport, of course, but also have a photocopy of the photo page of your passport and 2 extra photos. Be sure to have TWO copies of important papers, in case of loss. Wear your passport at all times. Never leave your passport in your room.

Decide what clothes you will wear each day, write this down. Then plan to mix and match. Ask your tour guide about how to get your clothes washed each week. It's OK to re-wear clothes since no one knows you at different places.

You will need two pairs of shoes at most. You will walk and walk, and the sidewalks are not even.

Wear thick socks when walking and thin socks when sitting.

Roll your clothes tightly, putting non-wrinkling items on the inside of a roll.

You, of course, want to take long johns. These are like wearing a slip these days, very different than the old style, but necessary.

Take a notebook and pens. Take photos of these so that you can sort your photos more easily.

Loop your camera charging cable through the handle of your carry-on so that you do not forget it on the day of your departure. You must have 2 sets of electrical adapters/transformers. Don't buy CD's overseas since these are not compatible with American systems.

You must let your credit card companies know your exact itinerary so they will accept your charges. Get their international phone numbers, too.

You will need both Pounds and Euros. Some of each before you leave is helpful. The price you see on the internet is not what you will pay. You pay a fee to buy and a fee to sell. Use all your coins before leaving a European country since no coins are accepted at exchange places. Your own bank can get you some of these currencies.

Orla C

2012-02-13 09:26:10 UTC

Look into getting yourself a Eurail pass so, if you'd rather travel on your own.

Be advised that winter in Europe is VERY VERY cold, you will need proper winter clothes - hats, gloves, scarves, boots, etc. Also many major tourists sites are not open to the public at that time of the year, so you might want to check ahead.

2016-05-16 09:23:20 UTC

depends what you call winter? From end of November until end of March I would avoid Milan, Paris and Cote d'Azur. Rome can be moderate, but I would recommend to go further south: Naples, Malaga, Sevilla, Athens,...